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The fourth day of the tournament ended, Gajeel was left alone in the catacomb of the arena destroyed, Natsu and himself were that rough in the battle that dived deep into the ground. Kaya waited until the end of the battle to infiltrate the underground to join Gajeel. She sensed the dark magic she and Crime Sorciere were searching for.
She removed her bracelet to use her powers, she held in her hand a light-ball. Being surprised by an intruder, Gajeel blocked Kaya, sending her on her butt, in a matter of gestures.
"Who are you!" the iron dragon slayer muttered with a death glare that sent shivers down the spine of Kaya.
"No one." She darted, returning the exact same stare to him. "Don't touch me."
Removing his hand, Kaya stood up, lighting up again a glimmer in the palm of her hand. Gajeel frowned, everything in the woman he smashed on the ground sounded familiar. The iron mage remembered her scent, but he couldn't place a name on her face.
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" he asked her out of curiosity.
"I have a thing to check here, I must thank you, you and Natsu helped greatly to uncover this place."
Gajeel scowled, still confused as to why this stranger was advancing into the maze of dark lanes. Deciding the wisest thing to do was to follow her track, Gajeel walked on Kaya's path. His gaze fixed on the light magic she used, he sought into his own memory. He reckoned that magic. Clueless, the iron dragon slayer chooses another approach.
"What are you searching for exactly? And how do I know you're not leading me into a trap?" he pointed out.
The white-haired woman chuckled upon those words. "As if I would be able to take down a dragon slayer." she murmured, hilarious. Gajeel shuffled pridefully.
"At least, tell me where you're going. How come you know where you are going?"
Kaya stopped to face the taller man. "Stop talking." she ordered. "Don't you feel the dark force here?"
Gajeel blinked, taken aback, the mage was right. Black magic lingered in the place. She simply stepped closer to the energy.
"How come someone like you is searching for this aura? Don't tell me you're with dark guilds!" he worried. The angelic mage rolled her eyes away.
"You're really fun, Gajeel."
Gajeel ignited, thinking finally of something important, "What is your name?"
Kaya leveled up her eyes to reach the eyesight of his speaker. "You can call me Anya." She lied. The man shrugged, no, that is definitely not a name he recalled. She paced forwards, the scenery changed drastically. Deserted chambers filled with dragon bones turned into fine halls, more modern.
"This place sure is weird." commented her comrade, trembling before the dragon's skeletons.
"The Great Gajeel would be afraid?" Kaya smirked.
He sent her a death glare, she laughed cheerily. "Fine, fine. There are stairs here, judging from the path we took, it will lead to the Mercurius' castle, it is still time for you to go back."
Gajeel grinned until his teeth were exposed. "It is far too interesting to go back."
Kaya sighed, still as reckless as before. "Well, let's climb it. Be ready to hide your aura if you can?"
He agreed and followed her speed. They quickly arrived in the corridors of the Mercurius. "It must be the undergrounds of the palace." she observed.
Pacing deeper into the main corridor, the mage's eyes widened before the enormous door standing here. Kaya took a lacrima out of her bag, to frame proof to Jellal. "What are you doing?" panicked Gajeel. "This thing could get us in jail!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, I need this information for my allies, which we share by the way." Kaya winked at him, perplexed Gajeel frowned at that comment.
"What do you mean?" the man did not have the time to protest, Kaya pushed him behind a pillar, she placed back her restraining bracelet on her wrist. Gajeel narrowed his gaze in front of her. She shrugged, cloaking herself. Two people advanced towards the massive gate.
"So this is Eclipse, the door to the destruction of Zelef?" questioned the voice of what looked like the general Arcadios' voice. I could observe the scene without being seen.
"Yes, princess Hisui requested that we kidnap a celestial mage possessing most of the twelve zodiac keys. The operation failed the first time, fortunately those fairy tail thinks it is Raven Tail's fault. What fools!"
Kaya frowned, recognizing the name of her friend. Could it be that she was the princess of Fiore? Hisui was behind all that ruckus? Feeling her companion flinch under the mockery.
Her free hand maintained Gajeel in his place. "We absolutely need all the twelve keys to open the Eclipse Gate?" asked the other. Inspecting the smaller person, Kaya discerned the silhouette of the first Minister.
"The princess only needs to reunite the keys for a small amount of time, she's a celestial mage too, she just has to establish a temporary link with them." taught Arcadios.
"Are you sure the plan will work? Going back in time to slay Zeref will surely cause chaos. Messing up with time provokes huge consequences." Darton worried.
"Trust the princess, she knows what she's doing." Kaya waited till both men left the place. Exhaling, she uncloaked herself. Gajeel stuttered, the woman could disappear in the blink of an eye on command.
"So was it all that project about exactly?" He interrogated the woman, who seemed aghast.
"As they said, but the problem is that the tool they use emits too much dark energy to cause anything good..." she rubbed her neck, turning back on her feet.
"Where are you going? Can we find an exit from another direction?" Gajeel spat out.
"If you want to be interrogated and thrown in jail, that's your choice. Feel free to go this way. There are hundreds of guards in the castle. It is safer to go back from where we came. And we'll look less suspicious going back from where you fell."
With those words, they retraced their way back, Gajeel was exhausted. The fight added to all this walk was too much. Kaya helped through the staff passage. "You work here?"
Anya snorted, "Somehow, we can say it that way."
The iron mage frowned, the wizard remained elusive in all of her answers. That annoyed Gajeel to a high extent. Finally out of the Domus Flau, Kaya started to depart from her ex companion, when he grabbed her hand. "You, did we meet before?"
Kaya smiled wryly, she slipped through his hand and cloaked into thin air. "Well that was really suspicious." thought Gajeel out loud.
Back home, I called Ultear to give her the information, when Jellal asked that they be reunited in person as they were with a stranger. I accepted, wondering who could be the unknown person entering her own home.
Half an hour later, four people passed my door. I reckoned the first three while I glanced at the fourth one still hiding behind her cloth. I went to push the sheets to block sight from my window. "My home is safe, you can show your face." I told her.
A trembling hand brushed the cloak past her head, my eyes broadened, noting the blonde hair in front of me. A face I saw that very morning being beaten by Minerva of Sabertooth. The imitation of Lucy displayed no injuries.
"You're not Lucy." I said coldly. "Who are you?"
Her sorrowful stare pointed at me. "I'm not the Lucy from the present, that's different." she replied. I turned to Crime sorciere, "Care to explain what's going on?"
I rolled my head to Lucy, she looked fine, but something seemed broken within her. "It's good to see you, Kaya."
I sat, losing track of time, Jellal pushed me out of my reverie. "What did you find?" he interrogated bluntly. I slapped myself mentally, now was not the time to lose myself in thoughts.
"I went to the palace catacombs with Gajeel, I followed the black energy until we found something." I paused, looking at everyone. Should I mention that one of my friends was behind that scheme? Everyone waited for me to pursue.
"Eclipse, the gate able to destroy Zeref himself, by turning back in time. Nothing can come out of it." I declared. "No black magic can help us destroy the black mage."
Jellal sipped the coffee, and I prepared their arrival. "I see so that means you were right." he looked right into Lucy from the future. They briefed me about her, coming from a past where the capital was erased from the map.
My eyes met those of Lucy's, "What will happen if the gate is opened?"
Lucy's expression distorted, tears began to fall in her eyes. "Then it will be the end of our world." she affirmed.
"Calm down, Lucy" soothed Meredy, hugging her slowly. Jellal and Ultear shuffled, deceived by the celestial mage. "We have no choice, we need to inform Fairy Tail of what is happening." Jellal talked.
I inhaled a bit of air before revealing it, "There's another thing I need to confess." The four people in my living room stopped, letting me expire my words. "I know the princess, she's my friend. I heard she's behind all of this. I can try to convince her into stopping the project."
Ultear blinked in awe. "You know the crown princess of Fiore!? How long? Did you know she was the princess?!"
"Yes, I know since my moving here. I met her in a library and I helped with some rascals." I taught her. "But I only discovered it tonight. I never would've thought she was the heiress of Fiore's politics."
Jellal stood silent, visibly brainstorming on a solution that could help us sort things out. Meredy exclaimed from Lucy's side, "But what if she doesn't listen to you?" she precisely said with a worried tone.
Jellal agreed, "You should try to stop her, but be careful, try to meet her outside of her castle, you might risk being thrown out in jail." I accepted.
"We need to think of a plan B in case she doesn't listen, I know she's stubborn." I informed my comrades.
Ultear placed a calling device on my table, "Then I'm going to make a few calls to notify our other allies."
Meredy bowed on me, her chest caressed my shoulders, "We asked for the help of Fairy tail's team A in the arena. We need as much help as we can get." she beamed with a soft voice. I excited the room the moment Ultear finished her calls.
"So, what is plan B?" My voice raised up.
The marked mage shook his head. "You're going to be our first plan for now. I'm not going to reveal the second to you now. Focus on your confrontation with the princess. If things were to turn awry, run away immediately, okay?"
I sighed, "And if I end up caught in their prison." Ultear grinned, demonstrating her lacrima and my bracelet.
"I will cast a spell on your bracelet to keep track of your location. If I sense you're in danger, we will send someone to get you out."
"Thank you, Ultear." I smiled with a comforting smile. She stroked my hair, gently. That was my time to call Hisui to ask her to come.
"Do you think she'll come?" requested Jellal with a concerned glare.
"She's my friend, I trust her to come if I have an emergency." I confirmed. Lucy drained from all vividness, I took her hands, pushing my light power in her, to ease her. "Don't worry, you're not alone in this, we are going to save everyone, including you." I promised.
My lips drew a smile. I couldn't refrain, "You can all sleep here tonight if you need. I'm going to wait for Hisui in the tavern."
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I hope you liked that long chapter and the moment between Gajeel and Kaya. I thought it was crucial for Kaya to discover who is her friend Hisui. Did some remembered who was Hisui?